Co-Chair

After graduating from Princeton, Yaw worked at Bain before co-founding LMNS, an HR tech company within the Antler accelerator program. Since then, he worked in business roles at startups in SaaS and EdTech before attending Yale School of Management. Yaw is excited to be co-leading a great team to host the Yale Black Venture Summit because he believes in the power of representation and showcasing Black excellence.

Co-Chair

A native of South Florida, Malcolm attended FIU for undergrad before beginning his Finance career in credit risk at HSBC. He has since consulted for hundreds of small businesses run by people of color, helping them access capital and direct services. Malcolm works to bridge the access gaps for our diverse communities by building intentional networks. YBVS is a representation of this, and a highlight of the Yale SOM experience.

Strategy & Ops

A proud alumna of Howard University, Fanta is an entrepreneur and investor currently attending Yale’s Jackson School of Policy & International Affairs. She speaks four languages and has raised millions as a social entrepreneur for Sadie Collective, which supports young Black women pursuing careers in economics.

Strategy & Ops

Rachel is a a rising corporate lawyer interested in all of the ways capital is deployed and how that activity can change the world. When she graduates, she plans to practice M&A law in Chicago and ultimately build a dynamic, multi-sector career.

Strategy & Ops

Lidya Demilew is from Burke, Virginia. She is a junior at Yale majoring in Cognitive Science on the Artificial Intelligence Track. Lidya is interested in entrepreneurship and the intersection of business and technology in social enterprises.

Finance

Emmanuel is a first year MBA student in the School of Management from Ghana. He holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Pharmacy and has worked at PPD Labs, now part of Thermo Fisher, and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS). Emmanuel is extremely passionate about Black excellence and representation, and seeks to use the YBVS platform to shine the spotlight on various amazing Black entrepreneurs and businesses.

Finance

As a 2nd year graduate student at Yale's School of Environment, khayr is expanding his studies to focus on renewable energy and business after a decade of global experience in finance. Having witnessed the transformative potential of entrepreneurship through targeted incentives – exemplified by Mo Ibrahim's founding of Africa's first telecom company, Celltel – he is passionate about platforms like YBVS that support Black founders and investors nationwide. With a background in finance, he brings insights into Africa's vast, untapped business potential, particularly in the realm of clean energy. he aspires to collaborate with like-minded colleagues to brainstorm ideas for sustainable enterprises fortifying underserved communities. Ultimately, he aims to catalyze meaningful change as a potential future renewable energy entrepreneur with strong ties to Africa.

Marketing

Tobi is an MBA / MPH candidate with an interest in healthcare, entrepreneurship, and community engagement. Before Yale, Tobi attended Vanderbilt and then pursued a career in healthcare tech focusing on population health and equity in care outcome. She is excited to once again be a part of the YBVS team for year #2 and continue efforts to increase the representation of Black venture capital and entrepreneurship at Yale and within the larger new haven community.

Marketing

Ezana Tedla is a third year undergraduate from the Twin Cities, Minnesota. He is intrested in international Trade & Finance, and how to increase its accessibility.

Stakeholder Relations

Leonard Robinson is studying Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Yale SOM. He believes that YBVS is a breakthrough program on the east coast, catering to an underserved population of talent. He has a deep interest in computer engineering, software, and logistical services. He has served on two non-profit board in academia for the last five years, and believe business should be mirrored by public service.

Stakeholder Relations

Ismael is a rising-sophomore at Yale interested in Computer Science, Wealth Management and Entrepreneurship with a particular career focus on the fintech industry.